Fall is already "in the air" in the Northern California high country. This signals the approach of our favorite time of year. From trout and bass to steelhead and striper. The best fishing of the year is knocking on the door. We are really looking forward to making some great memories this Fall with you. After reading the report if anything hits your hot button give us a call at (530)242-4122 or (707)287-2939.

Still not much to report here. Some half pounder action and a few adults along with a few straggler few striper around. Our sights will be set on Steelhead going into Fall and Winter. It is nice to have this fishery in our back yards during Fall and upcoming holiday season.

Striper fishing has kicked in to high gear this week. There are still opportunities for largemouth and smallmouth but it has been hard to leave feeding striper to go get them. This time of year can be a fun challenge to chase the "slam" of all 3 bass species on the same day! Water temps have dropped below 70 degrees in much of the Delta with recent cooler weather. Looking ahead to the weather report it looks like more cooler weather setting in next week. For Largemouth fishing it’s hard to beat size 2 topwater frogs or 1/0-2/0 crease flies when they are keying on baitfish. For Largemouth & Stripers sub surface we are using 1/0-2/0 Clouser style flies. For topwater Stripers I like 1/0-2/0 Crease flies with silver bellies when they are visually eating on top & the birds will show you where they are feeding. Prime Striper fishing is just about here, October & November are 2 of the better months & will of course book quickly so reserve your spots soon!

Fishing has been fairly slow on the American. Back on January 1st the upper river above Ancil Hoffman Park opened and although not a lot of fish are in the system we are getting a fair amount of half pounders and chances each day at larger fish.

Striper are already staging on the Sacramento and a few are into the Lower American. Some shad have been caught by conventional anglers at the confluence. Maury Hatch has begun his annual shift up from the Delta to target the striper that come up out of the Sacramento to spawn. Fishing is still a little unpredictable. One day is decent the next is slow. You have to keep moving to find fish. Fish Best flies have been Byng’s Bait fish in white/chartreuse, Toby’s American River Rainbow Clouser and the Stay Hungry Streamer in gray/white. We are looking forward to some more hot weather which will usher in the 2016 shad run. Stay tuned!

Call the Shop at (916)722-1055 for updates on current conditions or to schedule spring striper or shad fishing. We have a few weekend dates open but things are filling up fast.

Fall is right around the corner and despite drought conditions there are plenty of fly fishing options here in Northern California. Dates are booking up quickly so give us a call today to reserve your trip(707)287-2939.

Putah Creek - Fair to good. Flows - low and clear. Temps high 50’s to low 60’s, 400cfs. Best fishing has been first thing in the morning and again in the evening. Sporadic hatches of Blue Wing Olive caddis and some midges are the main items. Indicator nymphing with a two fly rig has been producing some a few nice fish. We’re still seeing quite a few smaller fish (6 to 10 inch range) being caught which is indicative of recent spawn success. Blue Wing olives have been hatching in the afternoon so fish BWO nymphs under a caddis or other attractor. Remember to go small and light with point fly with a Blue Wing Olive or midge down to 6x tippet. Fishing should only improve as water levels drop and fish begin staging for the spawn.

Guide Tip : Try using a San Juan Worm with a small Baetis dropper in deeper slots. Some nice fish landed last week on SJW’s. Also hesitate to throw on an egg pattern soon as fish will begin keying on them.

This past Saturday a friend and I had a fly fishing day for the ages. Dr Eric Herve has been fishing pal of mine for a number of years now. We have had countless adventures together. From attempting to turn my Chevy Silverado into a drift boat on the Yuba, to random incidents and great fishing memories.